Norwegian Star at Spring Break with 5 kids. Would you sail this ship??

[MamaToMany]

We have a pair of connecting Family Oceanview rooms on deck 5 forward on a 24 hour hold. We got a pretty good deal, I think.  I just can’t decide if it will be worth it? We can’t swing this on a yearly basis, so this is a big deal. 

 

Our kids are 15, 13, 11, 9, and 7.  We don’t need all the bells and whistles, but will there be enough to do to keep them occupied and happy? How are the kids clubs? Teen clubs? General activities?

 

Will we regret spending the money? 

[Cruiser_1977]

There is a kids/teen club,sports court, arcade, and a golf driving net. However, there is no waterslide or rockwall or go carts. If you're kiddos are more laid back it'll probably be okay. If they tend to get bored easily, you may want to choose a ship with more "bells and whistles".

Edited February 21, 2019 by JennyB1977

[FitchburgWIFamily]

Whistles and bells on board really don't do that much for my kids:  they love looking at the pictures before we sail and love the idea of sailing on bigger fancier ships, but once we actually sail:  they really do the same stuff on the big ship they did on the little.   The fancy slides or other stuff that requires lines and or planning really don't appeal to them much once the novelty has worn off.

 

First two cruises I took my kids on were on the Dawn and the Star.  

 

My son loves the sport court, makes friends with other like minded kids on the sport court, and hangs out with them for a good part of the cruise.  He loves the buffet, the pool side food offerings, and getting food at OSheeans in the middle of the night.   He never went in the pool.  He played ping pong and shuffle board with his friends, but not with us.  When I took him on the Escape, and I honestly don't know if he ever did the ropes course or the waterslides.  He just did the sports court and his usual stuff.  

 

My daughter is social: she loves the teen club.  Makes friends in the teen club and then does things with them for the rest of the week:  they go to shows together, hang out on the pool deck together, etc.   She doesn't hang out in the teen club that much, just uses it as a way to meet people.  On the Escape, she did do the ropes course and the water slides, but once she did them once, she was done.  The teen club didn't work as well for her on this sailing for some reason, she had a harder time making friends.  She did sail with a friend though, so they hung out together.

 

When they were younger, they were both in the kids club as opposed to the teen club.  The loved the kids club a lot, especially learning and practicing circus tricks for a show at the end of sailing.

 

Because it is spring break, the ship will be filled with kids.   Kids Club may send out an email saying they can only accommodate so many, so it behooves you to get your kids there as soon as it opens.    But because it is filled with kids, your kids should have plenty of kids to meet and play with.